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As the owner of a vehicle, you are probably familiar with auto insurance recommending you install safe driving programs. These devices will monitor your car and the way you are driving – and based on this, you may get discounts.
The better you are as a driver, the more discounts you will receive. But are they worth it? How can they prove helpful in the future? We are just about to find out.
What Are Safe Driving Programs
Safe driving programs, often referred to as usage-based insurance (UBI) programs are pieces of software that collect data on your driving behavior. These programs are connected to a monitoring device that you have in your car and a smartphone app to showcase your data.
Insurance companies use these programs to assess the risks you pose as a driver. The safer you generally drive, the less likely you will be to seek compensation from them. As a result, they may lower your insurance premiums accordingly.
What Do Safe Driving Monitoring Devices Check For?
Through save driving monitoring devices, safe driver programs check for the following data:
- Speed: It can show that you like to take risks on the road.
- Time of Driving: It will suggest whether you are usually a daytime driver or a nighttime driver.
- Hard Breaking: Multiple hard-breaking incidents may suggest that you often get distracted during your driving.
- GPS Information: Informs the insurance company if you enter accident or theft-prone areas.
- Turning: To calculate just how much you put yourself and others at risk.
- Mileage: The more you are on the road, the likelier it will be for you to get in an accident
- Emergency Braking: To show how often you come close to a collision.
- Phone Usage: Frequent usage may label you as a distracted driver.
Safe driving monitoring devices will not necessarily check on the status of your car, as a black box does. Instead, it will check on you and how you behave as a driver. Even if you are constantly monitored, you can gain a few perks from this.
Why Would You Benefit from Safe-Driver Programs?
The most obvious benefit here is that safe driving programs will lower the insurance premiums of your car. Nowadays, there’s no easy way to cut costs, as they are fairly fixed based on your driving experience. But with the GPS-like device tracking your movements, you can prove your way into a lower insurance fee.
Secondly, before you know it, safe driving programs can help you become a better driver. To keep the benefits, you will need to alter your driving habits. Before long, this restraint on the road will become second nature. This will reduce your accident risks, keeping you safe on the road.
Last, this will also prove helpful in case you do get involved in an accident. Safe driving programs work in a similar fashion to black boxes. The only difference is that instead of storing the data in the box’s memory, it will send it to the insurance company.
In Oregon, it’s a common procedure to check for a safe driver program. A Portland car accident lawyer will use the transmitted data to win your settlement. If it shows that you are indeed a safe driver, it will act as proof that you were unlikely to cause the accident.
Bear in mind that while it may be used to help you, it may also be used against you. If by any chance you were not able to shake off your risky road behavior, the insurance company will know about it. This can prevent you from getting your compensation, even if you are otherwise innocent of that particular incident.
Are There Any Drawbacks to Being Monitored?
The main issue with safe driver programs is that you do not get much privacy because of it. The associated devices will collect everything from your location to how many times you talk on the phone. It’s no wonder that so many feel that the safe driver program is the equivalent of a tracking ankle bracelet.
To avoid insurance companies from prying too much into your lives, some states enacted laws about transparency. It regulates exactly how much information insurance companies can track, along with what they can use.
You will also need to limit yourself significantly if you want to keep your premium or your insurance. Your previous data may be used against you in an accident, regardless of whether you are at fault.
The Bottom Line
In the end, choosing whether or not to get a safe driving program is up to you. You will get financial benefits, but there will also be certain limitations to keep in mind. If you are generally a safe driver and don’t mind the data collection, it will probably be worth it.
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